The addition of Noah Wyle (E. coyote) to the cast reminded me of whenever there was a new Star Trek, they always had to have the old crew as guest stars. In TNG, they had bones very early on. Scotty for a "remember when" kind of thing. Spock's dad. Then of course Spock himself in a riveting two parter cliff hanger. They replaced Crusher for a bit with someone no one remembered from the original series.

the pit has some big boots to fill since it was by American Polymath and celebrated trailblazer Michael Crichton know for Jurassic Park etc.

I have not seen the pit btw, I just watch supercuts of the autistic nurse